Pet Subjects: Telegraph vet Pete Wedderburn answers your questions

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Dear Pete

My eight-year-old löwchen, Freddie, has developed a growth on his tail. It looks like a claw and my groomer tells me it is a keratin growth. She trims it, but it grows quite rapidly. Should I do anything else about it?

JG, Somerset

Dear JG

Talk to your vet about any growth like this: they may be able to reassure you and if not, a simple biopsy, sent to the pathology laboratory, would give you the answer. It sounds like a benign structure that won’t need any more action.

Dear Pete

Our new ginger neutered male kitten used to get on well with our eight-year-old spayed female tabby, but at one year old, he’s started to get grumpy with her, attacking her for no reason. How can we restore peace?

MS, Essex

Dear MS

It’s rare for adult cats in the same house to be friends; cats tend to be independent loners. Try to create separate spaces for the two cats within your home, giving each their own playing, sleeping, eating and toileting areas.

DOGS SNIFFING OUT PARKINSON'S

A UK-based charity (medicaldetection dogs.org.uk) was a finalist for the Purina Better With Pets prize. The charity trains dogs to smell cancer and are now teaching dogs to detect Parkinson’s disease by sniffing a patient’s clothing.